Stamford NAACP President Jack Bryant addresses the audience before Rev. Al Sharpton serves as a guest preacher during a "Get Out to Vote Rally" at the Union Baptist Church on Newfield Avenue in Stamford, Conn., Oct. 7, 2012.

Stamford NAACP President Jack Bryant addresses the audience before Rev. Al Sharpton serves as a guest preacher during a "Get Out to Vote Rally" at the Union Baptist Church on Newfield Avenue in Stamford, Conn.,

State Rep. Patricia Miller addresses the crowd before Rev. Al Sharpton serves as a guest preacher during a "Get Out to Vote Rally" at the Union Baptist Church on Newfield Avenue in Stamford, Conn., Oct. 7, 2012.

State Rep. Patricia Miller addresses the crowd before Rev. Al Sharpton serves as a guest preacher during a "Get Out to Vote Rally" at the Union Baptist Church on Newfield Avenue in Stamford, Conn., Oct. 7,

STAMFORD -- Civil rights leader and MSNBC talk show host the Rev. Al Sharpton chastised eligible black voters in Stamford to exercise their rights at the voting booth next month or risk negating the gains of the past 50 years.

"You are looking at the possibility of affirmative action being phased out," Sharpton said. "This is not an election about who you like or who came to your fish fry. It means all of what the civil rights movement gained in the '60s and '70s could be reversed in the next couple of months."

Sharpton, 58, was also scheduled to make a second stop Sunday at Grace Baptist Church in Norwalk to make a voter awareness speech.

"I know this event is nonpartisan, but it is not nonsensical," Sharpton said.

Sharpton's comments about McMahon came while recounting a story to Union Baptist Pastor the Rev. Robert Perry and the assembled crowd about a Connecticut resident who questioned the impartiality of his visit.

While addressing a presidential run, people often judged his candidacy because most of his experience was as a civil rights activist and preacher, which stands in contrast to McMahon, who he said has gotten some credit for her business experience as former CEO of Stamford-based WWE.

"You'd think if I was in the wrestling business I'd be more popular," Sharpton said. "I don't know Rev. Perry, I'm not endorsing anybody, but you've got some funny standards up here."

While Sharpton sometimes took a more humorous tone on topics like black culture and living by purely materialist values, he strongly criticized any black voter who planned to stay away from the polls as selfish because some of the advances that civil rights martyrs like Medgar Evers paid for are under threat.

"Here you are, sitting in the suburbs of Connecticut, nice car, nice house, nobody bombing your car or shooting in your driveway, and you're too lazy to vote?" Sharpton said. "You have a lot of nerve getting down on your knees to ask God for something when you haven't used the gift He gave you."

Sharpton said he believes that voter identification laws enacted in 18 states since the 2008 presidential cycle will have the effect of keeping away blacks, Hispanics, young voters, and others who are more likely to support Obama and policies like government health insurance.

"We're not against using ID, but let's use the identification we used before when Reagan ran, and Bush ran," Sharpton said. "Now all of sudden when it comes to re-electing President Obama we need a new ID?"

Sharpton told the audience that this week the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Fisher vs. University of Texas, a case which could go some ways to eliminating affirmative action, which is the use of race, color, religion, gender or other factors to make school admissions or employment decisions to benefit minority groups.

Sharpton reminded voters that the next president, whether Romney or Obama, would be selecting two new Supreme Court justices who could redefine constitutional law to give state's greater latitude to determine what types of programs are necessary to level the playing field between minorities who are disadvantaged and whites.

"If you don't know where you come from, you can't know where you're at, or where you're going," Sharpton said. "I call it Negro amnesia. You're not the first smart Negro in America.Negroes have been smart before you and denied opportunities."

"I think the Rev. Sharpton did a great thing by taking us back to the past and remembering that people died and sacrificed to win us our rights," Vermont said. "We need to use the rights we have been given."